The Center, founded in 1985, is an environmental organization dedicated to protecting the environment, enhancing human, animal and plant ecologies, promoting the efficient use of natural resources and expanding participation in the environmental movement.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Obama Picks Tom Vilsack As Agriculture Secretary

President Elect Barack Obama has selected former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack (D-Iowa) to be his Secretary of Agriculture (DOA). He received a law degree in 1975 from Albany (NY) Law School. Vilsack, 58, was elected mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa in 1987. Vilsack did not seek a third term as governor and left office in 2007.

The Department of Agriculture activities include:

expanding markets for agricultural products and support international economic development, further developing alternative markets for agricultural products and activities, providing financing needed to help expand job opportunities and improve housing, utilities and infrastructure in rural America, enhancing food safety by taking steps to reduce the prevalence of foodborne hazards from farm to table, improving nutrition and health by providing food assistance and nutrition education and promotion, and managing and protecting America's public and private lands working cooperatively with other levels of government and the private sector.